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Finding supportive autism organizations and campaigns can be a difficult process. Hate groups and scams masquerade as friendly organizations, claiming to give a voice to autism while doing everything in their power to suppress the voices of autistic people. Here is how to find helpful and supportive campaigns while sidestepping the harmful ones.

Steps

Method1

Looking for Campaigns

1

Be careful of search engine results. Some of the most famous autism groups, such as Autism Speaks, do not actually have autistic people's best interests in mind.[1] A search engine may be able to find you some groups that autistic people support, but it will also find many that they say are harmful. Don't assume that a group supports autistic people just because it's up high in search results, or has a nice-looking homepage.

Also be careful of fundraisers for autism. Just because your favorite rock star—even if she's autistic or has an autistic child—supports a particular autism charity doesn't always mean it's really helping autistics.

2

Check the sidebars of prominent autistic writers' blogs. Writers such as Cynthia Kim, Ariane and Emma Zurcher, Amy Sequenzia, and others will share links to organizations that they find supportive.

3

Pick up recommendations from the autistic community. Try using the #AskAnAutistic hashtag to ask which campaigns and groups are most helpful. This way, individual autistic people can share their experiences and give you starting points.

4

Check out partner organizations. If you find one good group, check to see if it has partnered with other autism organizations, or what other projects its leaders are involved in.

5

Notice what events autistic writers and autism organizations mention. They may bring up things like Autism Acceptance Month and Autistic Pride Day, and mention groups that are hosting positive events.

Excessive sympathy for parents of autistic children as heroically bearing a terrible burden. Sympathy for parents who murder or talk about murdering their autistic children.

Focus on autistic children and ignoring adult autistics and their needs.

Personifying autism, e.g. as the Grim Reaper, or a miasma that "steals" children.[11]

3

Take a look at the imagery used on the website. This is not a perfect indicator, but can give you an idea of the website's focus and attitude. Child-centered imagery suggests that autistic adults are probably sidelined and silenced, and despair-ridden photographs suggest that the site amplifies autism stigma.

Images of crying, forlorn, or trapped children/parents as a metaphor for autism

4

Notice which organization is sponsoring the campaign. Is this organization frequently described as evil, exploitative, silencing, or a hate group?[14] Are autistic people organizing protests or boycotts against it?[15] Does it undergo frequent criticism regarding ethics?

Does the organization partner with organizations that the autistic community considers a hate group?

5

Look for the involvement of autistic people. Autistic people should be the primary voices in the autism conversation.[16] An easy way to find this is to notice if the organization declares itself to be run partially or completely by autistic people, or if its leaders' bios mention that they are autistic.

Parents of autistic children are not the same as autistic adults.

6

Consider the treatments that the group promotes.[17] Are they looking for a cure, or for ways to make autistic people's lives more comfortable? Do they promote compassionate and evidence-based therapies that do not have ethical issues (such as extinguishing stimming and other harmless symptoms) or cause Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Has anyone died from the therapies or ideas they promote?

Anti-vaccination messages from Autism Speaks and other groups have caused preventable disease outbreaks.

7

Look for its position on human rights. A helpful autism organization should address the clear human rights problems, such as abusive aversives and restraints, discrimination, caregiver murders, sufficient funding, and other issues.[17] Be wary of any organization that states that ending child abuse is too political,[18] or that murder is understandable.[19][20]

8

Notice whether it advocates for acceptance or stigma. Groups that stigmatize autism will describe autism as a life-destroying tragedy, and focus on how "difficult" it is for parents of autistic children. This can hurt the self-esteem of autistic children and adults. A group that advocates acceptance will include autistic voices, improve the self-esteem of autistic people, and focus on making the community more accepting and inclusive as a whole.[17]

9

Watch for trigger warnings during your research. Some groups support eugenics, torture, and abusive therapy. The material may be graphic, and you may experience nightmares or difficulty keeping it out of your thoughts. Assume that when someone says content is highly disturbing, they mean it.

When reading a trigger warning, stop for a moment or two to assess your emotional state. If you feel that you are in the frame of mind to deal with it, then continue.

Some articles about restraint and seclusion, the Judge Rotenberg Center, compliance therapy/ABA, and aversives may contain graphic photographs of burns and wounds on adults and children.

Method3

Starting a Campaign

You may want to start your own movement. You don't even have to be autistic to help autistic people—after all, The Autism Acceptance Project was founded by a neurotypical woman with an autistic advisory board.[21] You too can be a leader.

1

Learn about autism. It's important to know the basics before you start trying to make a difference. Listening to autistic voices will help you understand what the needs are, what hurts, and what helps.

Ask autistic and other disabled people about what would help them. Consider voices both in your local area, and on the internet. They can help you understand where needs are.

3

Ask to bring pre-established autism events to your community. For example, ask your school to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month, or for your town to celebrate Autistic Pride Day. You can reach out to organizations for resources.

4

Discuss inclusion and accessibility within your community. Is the environment autistic-friendly (understanding, flexible, not too loud, etc.)? Are autistic people given extra support so they can have equal opportunity? Does your school or workplace provide appropriate accommodations, and help autistic people figure out what they need?

5

Try doing a fundraiser for an autism charity. Once you have found helpful organizations, you might want to run a fun event to raise money for them. Try starting an autism acceptance walk, bake sale, art event, or other activity.

Remember that autistic people are listening to you. Some autistics may not speak, but they understand everything that is going on, even when they seem to be "elsewhere" (that may be when they are paying the most attention). Autism doesn't mean nothing gets through: it means everything gets through. Nonverbal autistic children have the same capacity as a non-autistic child for absorbing language in passive vocabulary—they understand all or most of what is said. Never talk about an autistic person as if they're not there. It's dehumanizing and objectifying.

Ask yourself—if an autistic person heard or read what you had to say, how would they feel? Think carefully about it. There will be autistic people in the audience, and they deserve to feel valued and loved.

8

Encourage autistic people to love themselves. With the high suicide rates and barrage of hate speech, autistic people can have low-self esteem. Show that you support autistic pride, and that you value neurodiversity. This will help autistic people feel welcomed and loved.

Community Q&A

The blue puzzle piece is associated with Autism Speaks, a group run by non-autistic people who seek to eliminate autism from the gene pool. Their ads about autism tend to be highly negative, portraying autism as a burden. The blue puzzle piece is upsetting to many autistic people for this reason.

My mom is considering joining a group called Talk About Curing Autism. I know nothing about it, but by the name it sounds bad. What should I tell her?

Community Answer

Tell her how you feel! For starters, let her know that autism is not a disease and that the autistic do not need to be cured. You can also let her know that this organization espouses the belief that vaccines cause autism, something that has been roundly disproved. Google "Andrew Wakefield fraud" to get started on that particular topic.

The Son-Rise program is considered to be a kinder form of therapy, as it encourages building a positive relationship, accepting unique behavior like stimming, and a focus on helping an autistic person be happy and capable, rather than "indistinguishable from peers." However, sometimes it's used to push problematic goals, like making eye contact (which can be frightening to autistics) or "curing" autism, which is neither realistic nor kind. Cost can also be a barrier. Son-Rise does seem to promote a much kinder and more loving attitude, and promote a bond that can help an autistic child feel safe and valued. It may be worth reading up on the Son-Rise techniques and trying out the good ones.

What should I do if I am unable to identify whether a campaign or organization is bad?

Community Answer

Look for what other autistic people think of it. Try googling the name or the campaign/organization with the word "controversy" or "bad" added to it. If there is anything that people are unhappy about that organization, the name will come up. However, you will need to analyze the criticism and not simply accept it; do your own research and reach your own understanding about it too.

Article Info

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 10 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. Together, they cited 20 references. This article has also been viewed 6,943 times.